BSES 36 - ECOSYSTEMS AND NUTRIENT CYCLING

SPECIES

A group of plants or animals that have a high degree of similarity and can generally only interbreed among themselves.

BIOSPHERE

The sum total of all of Earth’s ecosystems.

BIOME

One of many distinctive types of ecosystems determined by climate and identified by the predominant vegetation and organisms that have adapted to live there.

ECOSYSTEM

All of the organisms in a given area plus the physical environment in which, and with which, they interact.

BIOTIC

The living (organic) components of an ecosystem, such as the plants and animals and their waste (dead leaves, feces).

ABIOTIC

The nonliving components of an ecosystem, such as rainfall and mineral composition of the soil.

POPULATION

All the individuals of a species that live in the same geographic area and are able to interact and interbreed.

COMMUNITY

All the populations (plants, animals, and other species) living and interacting in an area.

MATTER CYCLES

Movement of life’s essential chemicals or nutrients through an ecosystem.

ENERGY FLOW

The one-way passage of energy through an ecosystem.

SINKS

Abiotic or biotic components of the environment that serve as storage places for cycling nutrients.

RANGE OF TOLERANCE

The range, within upper and lower limits, of a limiting factor that allows a species to survive and reproduce.

PHOTOSYNTHESIS

The chemical reaction performed by producers that uses the energy of the Sun to convert carbon dioxide and water into sugar and oxygen.

Producer

An organism that converts solar energy to chemical energy via photosynthesis.

CONSUMER

An organism that obtains energy and nutrients by feeding on another organism.

CELLULAR RESPIRATION

The process in which all organisms break down sugar to release its energy, using oxygen and giving off CO2 as a waste product.

CARBON CYCLE

Movement of carbon through biotic and abiotic parts of an ecosystem via photosynthesis and cellular respiration as well as in and out of other reservoirs, such as oceans, soil, rock, and atmosphere.

NITROGEN CYCLE

A continuous series of natural processes by which nitrogen passes from the air to the soil to organisms and then returns back to the air or soil.

NITROGEN FIXATION

Conversion of atmospheric nitrogen into a biologically usable form, carried out by bacteria found in soil or via lightning.

NITRIFICATION

Conversion of ammonia (NH3) to nitrate (NO3).

DENITRIFICATION

Conversion of nitrate to molecular nitrogen (N2).

PHOSPHORUS CYCLE

A series of natural processes by which the nutrient phosphorus moves from rock to soil or water to living organisms and back to soil.